By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
We are looking for reports on all WWE, AEW, NXT, TNA, MLW, ROH, GCW, and other notable live events. If you attend a show, you are encouraged to send a report or even basic results to dotnetjason@gmail.com
MLW “Battle Riot VI”
Atlanta, Georgia at Center Stage
Streamed live June 1 2024 on the MLW’s YouTube Page
Editor’s Note: Thanks to Dot Net reader Remy LaBeau for sending in his show notes.
I’ve always thought this is a good venue for indy wrestling, and it was announced as a sellout in advance. Lighting over the ring is good. Joe Dombrowski and Christian Cole provided commentary, but the audio had a bad echo.
* Outside Salina De La Renta said she’s here for revenge, and Cesar Duran “is a dead man.” We then went into the arena, where Cesar Duran walked to the ring with his masked goons. He brought out Delmi Exo.
1. Janai Kai defeated Delmi Exo to retain the MLW Featherweight Title at 6:12. They shoved each other at the bell. Janai hit a spin kick to the back and kept Delmi grounded. Delmi hit a superkick at 4:30, then a stunner. Kai applied her Dragon Sleeper, but Delmi hit a modified stunner to escape. Delmi hit a package piledriver! However Selina De La Renta walked to ringside and sprayed mist in Delmi’s eyes; she was aiming for Cesar. Kai hit a Helluva Kick and scored the tainted pin.
* Actor Paul Walter Hauser was interviewed backstage. He is in Battle Riot later. Ernest “The Cat” Miller and JImmy Yang approached him and they chatted. Violent J of the Insane Clown Posse joined the discussion.
* We then went to a video package of the Alex Kane-AJ Francis feud. Then we returned to the arena, where a gold throne was placed on the stage. Teddy Long was introduced; he just stood there and danced in place. Mark Henry was introduced! Dombrowski called him “the hottest free agent in the sport today!” AJ Francis came out and shook hands with Long and sat on the gold throne before standing back up and getting in the ring.
2. Alex Kane (w/Mr. Thomas) defeated AJ Francis in a Ritual Combat match at 15:11. Kane hit a running crossbody block, then he dove through the ropes onto Francis. They brawled on the floor. Francis hit a chairshot across the back at 2:30. He sat down on his throne again, between Henry and Long. Francis hit some more chairshots to the back in the ring. He bodyslammed Kane on an open chair that just crumpled up at 4:00. Back on the floor, Francis beat up Kane in front of Henry and Long, and Mark is looking agitated at Francis’ antics.
Francis charged and crashed through a board in the corner at 7:00. Kane hit a Stinger Splash and a leaping shoulder tackle. He hit an Angle Slam. Kane applied a sleeper, but Francis fell backward to squish Kane to escape at 9:00. The cameras panned to Mark Henry, who stood up and appeared to leave. Kane hit a German Suplex. Francis hit a low blow uppercut and a uranage at 10:30. Francis sat down again on his throne; Henry was now seated next to Long, and he pointed to the ring, as if to say “go back in there and finish this.” Kane crawled and collapsed at Francis’ feet on the stage. Francis tossed Kane back into the ring.
Francis slid a table into the ring and he put Kane on the table. Francis climbed the ropes but Kane hopped up and cut him off. Kane tossed a chair at Francis’ head, then he hit a second-rope superplex, sending Francis through the door bridge at 14:00. Kane now crawled out of the ring and sat on the throne. Francis crawled up the ring but collapsed and wasn’t on his feet, so Kane won. Kane shook hands with Teddy Long. Henry got on the mic and said it was “important how you got there, with pride, respect and honor.” A solid brawl.
* Backstage, Tom Lawlor and Saint Laurent were interviewed. Laurent complained about how they were screwed out of the tag team titles. (In all seriousness, Lawlor missed just one taping! Why were he and Davey Boy Smith Jr. stripped of the titles?) Lawlor is ready to win the MLW title tonight!
* A video package aired of Mads “Krule” Krugger. He has a “new crusader” who will be introduced tonight. Hail Contra!
3. Satoshi Kojima (w/Okumura) defeated Tom Lawlor (w/Saint Laurent) to retain the MLW Heavyweight Title at 11:51. We had the tale of the tape, showing they are both 6’0″ (I highly doubt that Lawlor is 6’0″ tall!) Laurent handed Lawlor some brass knuckles but the ref found a chain and other weapons… and the ref set them down IN THE CORNER. Laurent was ejected before the bell! Lawlor attacked at the bell and hit some body-blows and he choked Satoshi with a shirt. Kojima hit a shoulder tackle and seemed to move okay as he ran the ropes. (Hopefully his knees are doing better!) They traded forearm strikes. Lawlor applied a Figure Four at 3:30.
Kojima hit a series of punches in the corner. He hit his rapid-fire chops in the corner at 6:30, then a running forearm in the corner; yes he seems to be moving better than in recent months. He tripped Lawlor on the apron. They traded mid-ring forearm strikes. Lawlor hit a Flatliner and applied an Anaconda Vice on the mat, but Kojima got a foot on the ropes at 9:00. Kojima hit a stunner for a believable nearfall. Lawlor hit his knee strike to the back of the head for a nearfall at 11:30. Kojima hit a clothesline for a nearfall, then a second clothesline for the pin. Good match and as I noted a few times, Satoshi seems more mobile than most of the winter and spring when his knees were clearly causing him pain.
* Cesar Duran got in the ring. Salina De La Renta walked onto the stage and said she was going to kick his ass. Bad Dude Tito got in the ring and held Duran down. He cackled. Photos from her childhood were shown on the screen. Cesar told her that “I am your papa!” He laughed some more while she screamed. Quite the Darth Vader moment. This is just bad local community theater.
* It’s time for Battle Riot! We will start with two competitors and a new one every 60 seconds. This is no DQ so weapons are legal. Eliminations include via pinfall, submission or thrown over the top rope to the floor.
4. The 40-wrestler Battle Riot: Mistico is No. 1 and Jimmy Yang is No. 2, and he wore his cowboy hat; they shook hands and traded quick kicks. Star Jr. is No. 3; he’s in blue pants and mask and he hit a pop-up stunner on Mistico. Rugido is No. 4 at 2:00; he has a Tiger Mask look. Jesus Rodriguez is No. 5; despite his size, he hit some quick lucha moves. Shigeo Okumura is No. 6 at 4:00 so they are indeed coming out at a quick clip. Kwan is No. 7. Mistico got Rodriguez to tap out to a Fujiwara Armbar; that’s our first elimination. Akira is No. 8 and he immediately brawled with Kwan. Yang was eliminated by Star Jr. Tom Lawlor is No. 9, and he tossed Rugido.
Josh Bishop is No. 10 at 8:00; we have seven in the ring. Bishop hit a fallaway slam on Akira, then a Black Hole Slam on Kwan. Bobby Fish is No. 11 and he got a big pop. Star Jr. eliminated Mistico! The crowd booed. Bad Dude Tito is No. 12. Lawlor eliminated Okumura. Bishop and Lawlor tossed Star Jr. (the cameras missed it). Adam Priest is No. 13 and Dombrowski compared him to Dynamite Kid. (I always use a Jaime Noble comparison.) Paul Walter Hauser is No. 14 and he got a pop. He clotheslined Lawlor over the top rope to the floor at 12:30! Lawlor was irate! Slim J is No. 15. “He doesn’t need a trust fund to show you how good he is,” Dombrowski said. Akira and Kwan eliminated each other and kept fighting outside the ring.
Mads Krugger is No. 16 and he beat up Akira on the floor; the cameras CUT AWAY as he chokeslammed Akira off the stage. The production has missed two key spots in the past three minutes. Mr. Thomas is No. 17 and he hit a loud chop on Hauser. The commentators pointed out that Krugger never entered the ring. The Contra music played so it’s time to find out their new member! It is Minoru Suzuki at No. 18 and that got a massive pop! He immediately traded chops and forearms with Priest, then he dumped him to the floor at 18:30. Suzuki then battled Bishop. “This ring is stunned by what they are seeing!” Dombrowski said. Suzuki choked out Bishop!
Brett Ryan Gosselin is No. 19; he got in the ring and confronted Suzuki, which drew the “you f—ed up!” chant. BRG immediately rolled to the floor and under the ring. CW Anderson is No. 20; he is ageless, and he traded blows with Tito and he hit a spinebuster. Hauser hit a modified Flatliner and pinned Slim J. Scotty Riggs is No. 21; his hair is completely gray and I wouldn’t know it was him if Joe hadn’t said so. “Riggs might end up back in an eye patch once Suzuki is done with him.” Jake Crist is No. 22; he found where BRG was hiding and they brawled on the floor, then into the ring. Tito tossed Fish. Violent J is No. 23 at 23:30. Riggs was tossed.
Chris Danger, a YouTuber who has wrestled in Deadlock Pro, is No. 24. He hit a stunner and pinned Violent J. Ernest “The Cat” Miller is No. 25 and he got a huge pop, too. Tito clotheslined Mr. Thomas to the floor at 26:30. 1 Called Manders is No. 26. However, Krule and Manders brawled onto the stage and into the ring, so Krule is finally in the match. Suzuki tied up Ernest Miller. Sami Callihan is No. 27 at 28:30; Dombrowski said he is among just a handful of guys in their fourth Battle Riot. Crist was eliminated before Callihan made it in. Sami tossed Hauser; the crowd booed but I cheered. The Masked Assassin is No. 28; it clearly could be anyone under that yellow mask. Manders and Krugger flipped each other to the floor at 31:00 and were eliminated.
Alex Kane is No. 29; he unmasked the Masked Assassin and it was Tom Lawlor! He clotheslined Lawlor to the floor. Matthew Justice is No. 30, and Manders joined him to ringside. Justice hit a coast-to-coast missile dropkick on CW! Justice and Suzuki traded forearm strikes. Matt Riddle is No. 31 at 34:00 and he got the biggest pop so far. Riddle pinned Ernest Miller. Justice hit another coast-to-coast missile dropkick to pin BRG. I think we have eight in the ring. Andrew Everett is No. 32. Sami hit Everett’s fingers as Andrew was going for a chokekslam. Kane choked out CW to eliminate him. Kim Chee is No. 33 (Lawlor again?) Danger quickly pinned Kim Chee, so perhaps not. Tito was tossed by Riddle.
Timothy Thatcher is No. 34 and he traded forearm strikes with Suzuki! Dr. Cornwallis, in his bib overalls and mask, is No. 35. Suzuki got Cornwallis to tap to an armbar in just seconds. Suge D (a.k.a. Pineapple Pete!) is No. 36, and right on cue, Dombrowski mentioned that. Danger hit a Panama Sunrise on Suge D for a nearfall. Rickey Shane Page is No. 37 and he traded blows with Minoru. Suge D walked up to Minoru, turned and walked away and that got a laugh from the crowd. Shane Mercer is No. 38; is this his MLW debut? He nailed Moonsault and Battery on Andrew Everett at 42:00; if you haven’t seen him hit that it’s quite a visual. Arachnaman is No. 39 in a yellow full-body outfit; is that Lawlor? Yep, the mask was ripped off. Hauser brawled with Lawlor to the back.
We have seven in the ring. Davey Boy Smith Jr. is No. 40 at 44:00 so everyone has entered and we have eight remaining. Everyone tried to beat on Davey. Merer was tossed. Justice was tossed. We have remaining: Kane, Thatcher, Suzuki, Riddle, Davey Boy and Callihan left. Kane was tossed! Four guys stood over Riddle and stomped on him. Riddle hit a kick to the chest to send Suzuki off the apron to the floor, so we’re down to four. Callihan and Riddle brawled while Davey and Thatcher brawled. Thatcher and Davey Boy eliminated each other, while Riddle held onto the ropes as he managed to toss Callihan to win the match!!
Matt Riddle won the Battle Riot in 49:56. Dombrowski said Riddle is coming for Kojima and the MLW Title that has eluded him for six years, as the show went off the air.
Final Thoughts: I go back and forth — one episode I’m optimistic on MLW and the next one I’m down on the product. This was a decent show. The Battle Riot was laid out well. Riddle was an obvious choice to win, but we had a very good final eight. The surprises were fun, from Minoru Suzuki to Scotty Riggs. The gag of Lawlor returning was decent humor. I was starting to give Hauser ‘go-away heat’ by the end of his time in the match, though. There were a couple of production errors though, particularly pulling away as Krugger slammed Akira off the stage onto a table below.
The other matches were fine. Kojima looked much better, and hopefully he has a good match against Riddle. Kane-Francis was also what you’d expect from those two. The Mark Henry surprise appearance was fun, too. I just really don’t care for the Duran-De La Renta stuff. They are both heels and I can’t cheer for either. And I don’t see how their feud helps out any of the in-ring product.
Be the first to comment